title: Long-term follow-up results in patients with cervical disk disease treated by cervical anterior fusion using titanium cage implants.
abstract: This study is a retrospective analysis of 146 patients, 85 males and 61 females aged 21-80 years (mean 52 years), with cervical disk disease who underwent anterior fusion and titanium cage implantation with follow-up periods of no less than 72 months after surgery. All patients underwent the conventional anterior cervical approach. After removing the protruded disk and osteophyte, cylindrical titanium cages were placed. Single, two, and three level fusion was performed in 76 (52%), 64 (44%), and 6 (4%) patients, respectively. Functional assessment used the Neurosurgical Cervical Spine Scale (NCSS). The curvature index and range of motion were evaluated pre- and postoperatively. The clinical outcomes were satisfactory and there were no significant complications. The mean NCSS was 9.7 before and 12.7 at 1 year after the operation, and 12.1 at final examination. No postoperative cage extrusion or pseudoarthrosis occurred, but the cages descended in 10 patients (7%) although alignment was satisfactory. At 5 years after the operation, 140 of the 146 patients (96%) had solid fusion. The long-term results of anterior fusion with titanium cage implantation in patients with cervical disk disease were satisfactory. Titanium cage placement is a highly useful alternative to the conventional treatment method in these patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Hokkaido, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan. kazuhida@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hida
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwasaki
authors.forename: Shunsuke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yano
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akino
authors.forename: Toshitaka
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002574:Cervical Vertebrae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019736:Prostheses and Implants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D011843:Radiculopathy / Q000601:surgery*; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013123:Spinal Fusion / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D013995:Time; D013997:Time Factors; D014025:Titanium / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014025:Titanium